Why do you draw?

[Dawnne]

I'm curious to know why you draw. Seriously, not just because "it maeks me popularz, desu."

As for me, my reasons are a bit difficult to explain. (Prepare for TL;DR)

I don't draw because I like the actual process of drawing. I actually really stress over the actual drawing of something. Does his face look funny? Does this look the way I want it to? How can I make this better without taking away from the meaning behind it?

I also don't draw because it "relieves stress" or "expresses myself." While that may seem strange...it's true. I honestly cannot relieve stress or bad emotions through my art. If anything, it actually stresses me more to make it look good. If I start a drawing in a bad mood, unless the drawing turns out amazingly orgasmic, I'm going to be in a bad mood when I finish the drawing.

I draw because...I want to prove something.
I want to prove that you don't have to draw your entire life to be good at it.
I want to prove that you can improve in your art quickly.
I want to prove to myself that I can do something if I set my mind to it.
Most importantly, I want to prove that I'm not completely worthless.

I've spent my entire life half-assing everything. I cut out on halfway-done stories/comics/ideas/whatever and never go back and finish them. I want to prove to myself that I really can finish something if I want to.

So regarding art...
I'm too far in to turn back now. I'm in this for the long run. Even if I don't make anything of it, it's something I'll do for the rest of my life.


Sorry if that was too mind-bogglingly deep for your minuscule brains to comprehend. I like confusing people. I get a good kick out of it.<3 And then I'm like "wtf why are these people such idiots?" And I slam my head into a wall.

But this is a serious thread. =/ So please tell me why you draw. I spilled my guts...can I please get some real responses, too?

[⑨]

I...don't really know.

I guess it's kinda the same. I wanted to prove something.

But, I was really young. I enjoyed drawing, but so many people thought I was bad. I was, really.

But that shit pissed me off, so I just kept drawing and drawing until something good was made.

I'm still waiting for something good. ;_;

[Dawnne]

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. But that's one of the things that gets to me. Sometimes I wonder what my art would be like had I started at an earlier age. I waited until I was 14, had an identity crisis, and then suddenly I decided "I WANT TO BE AN ARTIST NOW, KAY?"
If I had started at, say, 10 or 11...what difference would it make in my art? Would it be better because I'd had more practice? Or would it not be much different?
My theory is...I don't think it would be too much different. At 16 years old, I have a specific standard for myself. I tell myself that I can't let myself be stepped on by 12-year-olds. However, if I was 12 years old, I don't think I would care too much about how good the 10 and 11-year-olds are. I don't think I would be as ashamed of myself as I would be now if someone younger than me is a hundred times better than me at everything.

...Does that make sense?

Seriously, the best way to kill my confidence is to compare me to someone else and describe how much better they are at everything than me. =/

[NYAAAAAAAAAA ^W^]

I'm not really sure why I draw either. I just really enjoy it and it gives me something to do instead of listening to teachers like I do. Can't say it's any of the others. I don't get payed. I do draw whenever I'm pissed but it doesn't really relieve stress. My friends do draw but that's not a reason. I can't say I really like how I draw |D. True personality... maybe but not really.... Yeah :I